


Handed a Miracle

by LadyChi



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 08:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3033212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyChi/pseuds/LadyChi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted by RosieTwiggs on Tumblr to write something about Oliver and Felicity trying to get pregnant. </p><p>I accidentally added plot. Established relationship. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Handed a Miracle

Felicity hadn’t ever really pondered the question of whether or not she would want children. For one thing, she didn’t have the best example of a family unit that stuck around. People around her, of course, grew up and got married and reproduced. She’d been to her share of baby showers and wedding showers, with friends and distant relatives alike.

 

But then she’d met Oliver Queen. And for a while there – well. She’d loved him, but he didn’t love her. And then he loved her, but he didn’t want to put her in danger, and she dated other people. And then he’d decided he couldn’t live without her, and to be honest, she’d been thinking the same thing but in reverse, and so they’d decided to try the whole…. Together thing.

 

Which had turned into marriage. Which still, frankly, terrified her, if she thought about it too hard. And not for the reasons everyone else seemed to think she should be terrified. Who _married_ Oliver Queen? Who married the Arrow, knowing what he was, what he’d done, what he was capable of doing?

 

Well, she happened to love the Arrow and Oliver Queen just the same and she knew _exactly_ what he was capable of, and knew more about what he’d done than he was comfortable with.  No, _marriage_ itself is what had terrified her. For all of Oliver’s traumatic experiences, his mother and father had maintained a happy illusion for him. He had faith, right down deep in his bones, that love could last forever, that there was such a thing as soulmates.

 

But her mother had been destroyed when her father had walked out, and though she’d been strong and remade herself and did whatever she had to do so that she and Felicity could survive, well. That had kind of destroyed Felicity’s hope in “I do” meaning anything more than pretty white dress.

 

But it had meant so much to Oliver, and if there was one thing she did have faith in, to quote the great Tenth Doctor, it was _him_. And so… they were married.

 

And that was fine. That was more than fine, actually, that was _great_. Felicity had really surprised herself with how much she enjoyed… all of it. Getting dressed next to each other in the morning. Side-by-side in the bathroom brushing teeth. Straightening his tie for him, and using his shoulder as a balance so that she could slip her heels on without having to sit down. Linking hands and walking places together.

 

There were some things that weren’t so great, but that came, Thea told her, when you married a Queen, and there just wasn’t any getting around it. One factor was the way everyone in the Queen Consolidated building treated her now, regardless of the fact that she no longer worked there. The other part that wasn’t so awesome was the media attention. Granted, it wasn’t as intense as it had been when Oliver had got back from the island, but every once in a while, reporters intruded on their life or made things difficult.

 

She’d learned to deal with it. Mostly, it was _great_.

 

And then, one day, she was holding Diggle and Lyla’s newest addition, a beautiful brown-eyed child who had yawned and reached up and touched her face and _stared_ at her, and something deep inside of her had _twisted_ in that way that she had sworn up and down she was immune to, and something went, “Oh, I want one.”

 

The thought had startled her. She’d opened her eyes wide and inhaled deeply. She’d never been opposed to children. Not really. But she’d never… wanted. Or ached to have them.

 

She looked across the room at Oliver, who was talking enthusiastically with John, his hands moving as he gesticulated. His godson, Jace Diggle, was clinging to him, piggy-back style. Oh… oh shit, she thought.

 

Because now all she could see was their children. Maybe they’d have mouthy honey-blonde teenagers who were in to…. Running marathons or Krav Maga, or maybe they’d have nerdy brown-haired children who built fortresses out of Legos. Maybe they’d have his eyes, and her nose.

 

The thought dazed her for a moment.

 

Lyla sat down next to her. “Thinking deep thoughts?”

 

“Mm,” Felicity said, caressing Danielle’s beautiful smooth cheek. “Something like that.”

 

“I know that look,” Lyla said. “Are you and Oliver thinking…?”

 

“Oliver and I haven’t discussed anything yet,” Felicity said. “It would be… quite the conversation. I know all the books say you should have that conversation before you get married but…”

 

“Books, shmooks.”

 

“I… don’t even know how to begin, really,” Felicity said. “I don’t know anything about kids, or how to be a good mother or…”

 

“I don’t think anyone _knows_ ,” Lyla said. “You just… you get handed this _miracle_ and you spend all of your energy just trying not to screw it up. But it’s worth it, if it’s what you really want.”

 

Felicity could feel the weight of Oliver’s eyes on her, so she looked over his way. He had Jace upside down, and the five-year-old was shrieking and giggling loudly. He raised his eyebrows: are you okay? She nodded: I’m fine.

 

Danielle chose that moment to let out a cry and Felicity handed her over to Lyla. “I’ll just bet she’s hungry,” she said, and moved off to the nursery.

 

Felicity was still shaking.

 

**

 

“Is there something on your mind?” Oliver asked her as they got undressed that night.

 

In the beginning of their relationship, that he’d noticed might have shocked her. But only in the beginning. Now she was almost expecting it. “I…. I don’t know yet.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Have you ever… thought about something one way your whole life and then… change your mind?”

 

Oliver nodded. “Certainly. Want to give me a clue?”

 

“I’m just – I’m starting to think that…” Felicity huffed out a breath. “Okay, I’m just going to say this out loud and by no means does this mean I’m ready to have an in-depth conversation about it. I just think… you’re my partner so you should know what I’m thinking, right?”

 

“If you want to share.”

 

“I do. I want to share. Because this is crazy. Oliver? I think I want to have a baby.”

 

Felicity waited, her breath held. Oliver didn’t move or say anything for a long minute. “You think you want to have a baby.”

 

“Yes. And I can see that maybe you don’t? And that’s fine. This is _totally_ not a deal breaker. And I’m not even saying now, although, you know, well, I mean, we’d have to plan first. And we’d have to think about how _everything_ would work. I would need to take maternity leave. Maybe Sara could come back and help out for a while? But these are all just thoughts. Preschools have waiting lists like a mile and a half long so maybe I should start looking into that. And there are these things called doulas….”

 

“Wait, slow down. You think you want to have a baby.”

 

“Yes. With you. If that wasn’t clear. I’m just… starting to think, that’s all.”

 

Oliver crossed the room and kissed her, his hands threading into her loose hair, then he took a deep breath and laid his forehead against hers. “I love you, you know that.”

 

“I do. Oliver, if you don’t…”

 

“I want a family with you. I want that… more than anything. I want to give you that. If that’s what you want.”

 

Butterflies fluttered and then settled in her stomach. This was what was meant by having a rock in your life, she often thought. Oliver could ground her with his words, stop her flights of worry, and she could do the same for him.

 

“I’m just… thinking,” Felicity said. “I know it would be complicated.”

 

“It’s always complicated with us,” Oliver said. “It’s never… easy. It’s never storybook. But we can have a family, Felicity. If you want. We can have that life.”

 

“Okay. Let’s both just… think on it,” Felicity said, and laid her head on his shoulder. And they stood, arms wrapped around each other, for a long moment.

 

**

 

Oliver couldn’t stop thinking about it. Before the island, being a father had always been on his hazy-dream list. And then after the island, he didn’t think he’d ever make it to a point where it would even be an option.

 

A baby would change everything, and when he’d promised Felicity they could have a family if that’s what she wanted… he was already thinking of stepping back his time as the Arrow, letting Roy cover more often.

 

He let an arrow fly, slicing a tennis ball in half neatly. And then another, and then another. He maneuvered his body up and down the salmon ladder and climbed the wall free-handed, but his mind wasn’t really on his workout. It hadn’t been on his workout all week. Because he’d been thinking about… this.

 

Diggle and Lyla made it work, somehow. Their children were happy and well-adjusted, and neither of them had sacrificed their jobs completely.

 

“I think it’s going to be fun,” Felicity said, talking into her cell phone as she came down the stairs. “Yes, absolutely, okay. See you then.”

 

Oliver dropped from the wall. Felicity wrapped her arms around him, seemingly uncaring that he was sweating buckets. “Mm, you stink,” she said as she kissed the side of his neck.

 

“Thanks,” Oliver said dryly.

 

“So I’ve thought some more,” Felicity said, looking around to make sure they were the only ones in the Foundry.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yes. And I’ve been thinking…. We should do it. I mean, we should have a baby. Not… we should _do it_ , although obviously that will be happening… _a lot_. I mean _a lot_ , which will be fun, and….”

 

Oliver grinned at her. “You really want… I mean, this is okay?”

 

“Yeah. I thought… I’d stop birth control, right? And then it’s usually a couple of months and we can start, uh… _trying_. I made this chart and I’m going to start tracking my cycle and when I’m ovulating and I’ve done all the research….”

 

“So you’ll just…”

 

Felicity winked at him. “I’ll just let you know. Are you going to be ready to go, any time, anywhere?”

 

“Is that a challenge to my manhood?”

 

“I’m not saying _that_ , I’m just saying, when it’s go time…”

 

“I’ll show you _go time_ ,” Oliver said, and picked Felicity up and carried her back to the cot. And they got several rounds of practice in.

 

**

 

_Chapter two_

Felicity attacked getting pregnant the same she attacked most of the problems in her life: thoughtfully, systematically. She began to keep a journal, paid more attention to her cycle, took her temperature more often than she ever had in her entire life.

 

“Do you think maybe you’re putting too much thought into this?” Oliver asked her, watching her make another mark in the pink book next to her bed.

 

“No,” Felicity said. “When it comes right down to it, getting pregnant is biology and biology and science and I know science. We’ll just figure out my body’s perfect time and… presto!”

 

Oliver wrinkled his eyes. “Presto?”

 

“Well, yes. I didn’t want to say, ‘bam, preggers!’, but that’s the general idea.”

 

“Preggers?” Oliver coughed.

 

“I may have been on a few mommy blogs in the past few weeks.”

 

“I can see that. Felicity, why don’t we try just… _trying_ for a while, without all this other stuff? I mean, do you want to tell our child that they were the desired result of a chemical interaction? Or…”

 

“First of all, who _honestly_ asks about their conception? I mean, I can’t imagine a stranger conversation with my mother than that one. And secondly, I will tell our child that we planned for him or her and we wanted them very much and it all worked out because Mommy and Daddy love each other, and because Mommy is very, very smart.”

 

Oliver chuckled. “All right, then.”

 

**

 

Two weeks later, Felicity started down at the thermometer in her hands. Her pulse was racing and she felt almost-faint. It was perfect. All of the research she’d done on her own body told her that _this_ was the exact moment that her body was the most primed to get pregnant. Three-thirty on a Tuesday afternoon on her coffee break, and if she really wanted a baby, _really_ wanted a baby, she should call Oliver and take the afternoon off and…

 

The enormity of what she was considering suddenly hit her. Not that she hadn’t thought through conceiving an infant before, of course. But it occurred to her that if she called Oliver right now and they had sex right that instant then…

 

She started to laugh and couldn’t stop. It was a weird reaction to stress, not one she usually had, actually, but… she was still laughing as she texted Oliver, “Today’s good. Wanna make a baby?”

 

His reply was nearly instant. “Right now?”

 

“It’s go time. You said you’d be ready.”

 

“Where?”

 

Felicity looked around. “My office,” she texted him quickly. “Thank God for locks and shades and assistants who know what GTFO stands for.”

 

“Felicity, you can’t tease me like this. Are you serious about office sex?”

 

“As serious as the day is long. I want a baby, and well, the thermometer says it’s go-time so…”

 

“I am literally minutes away from you. Do not start without me. Wait, do. Do start without me.”

 

Felicity giggled, but took him at his word. Her hands shook a little as she toed out of her shoes and removed her earrings (she did _not_ want another repeat of the Great Earring Incident of March 2015 during which she’d almost pulled her earring through her ear in a series of unfortunate choices during sex with Oliver). She was thinking to herself – hair up, hair down? Oliver liked it better down, but then he also liked to _take_ it down, when the door opened. She nearly jumped out of her skin, until she realized it was Oliver.

 

He closed the door and locked it behind him, a sound that had never sounded so decisive. “Mrs. Queen,” he said, in a husky voice.

 

“Oliver, get over here,” Felicity said, tossing her hair impatiently. “I had my next hour or so rescheduled, so…”

 

“I just want to take a minute. I’ve had this fantasy for _years_ ,” Oliver said, crossing the room in strides. “Back when it was my office.”

 

Felicity raised an eyebrow at him. “What kind of fantasy?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Oliver said, wrapping his arms around her. “You know, using the desk, or up against the window… we’re high enough up we could do that and statistically, no one would see us.”

 

Felicity nearly burst out laughing. “Statistically? What do you know about statistics?”

 

Oliver kissed her. “I have this really smart wife. She tells me all sorts of things. I listen.”

 

Felicity laughed. “Oliver, I’m serious about us being on a timeline here.”

 

“And I’m serious about making a baby with you, but we’re going to have some fun along the way,” he said, and one round on the desk, and another by the window (because he really had been sweet about the whole fantasy thing), and Felicity had to agree that was a pretty good idea.

 

**

 

They settled into a weird sort of existence. Oliver was still the Arrow, Felicity was still the head of IT and a Vice President of Queen Consolidated, and they were still married, but there was this other component to their lives -- an all-consuming mission that they were each giving their full attention.

 

As for Oliver, well, he was excited about the direction their sex life was taking. Felicity’s focus might have been on making a baby, but that meant that whenever she was fertile, he was more than willing to drop whatever he was working on to help her meet their goal. Because he was generous like that.

 

And Felicity was much more… well, it wasn’t that she hadn’t been adventurous before. It was just that she was nearly single-minded. So when they ran into each other in the club, they escaped to the private executive’s bathroom. They fucked, quickly and quietly, in Diggle and Lyla’s guest bathroom at a barbeque. He worshipped her in their bedroom, in their kitchen, on the lawn. Whenever, wherever she wanted.

 

Slowly, of course, it died down. Her most fertile time was a shorter window of time than Oliver’s libido might have liked, but it was also hard to be subtle about the amount of sex they were having. And the reason for it. Roy told him that he was sure smiling a lot for a vigilante, and Diggle kept giving him knowing looks out of the sides of his eyes.

 

Not that he felt ashamed of what they were doing. Or of their sex life in general, of course. He just knew Felicity would prefer discretion. And certainly they didn’t need the pressure of all of their friends knowing that they had made the decision to try. Felicity was already nervous enough as it is.

 

If Oliver had any hesitations at all, they lay in that area. Before he’d wanted to have children, he’d lost one. His former girlfriend’s pregnancy weighed heavy on his mind at the oddest moments. He wasn’t, exactly, a spiritual person, but he believed the universe had a certain amount of balance in it – that somehow, things evened out. Not that the universe was by any means fair. Oh no, it wasn’t that generous. No. He was just worried that because he’d rejected that child, had been relieved when the pregnancy had ended so… _conveniently_ , that perhaps there might be problems with the child he longed for with Felicity.

 

“So that’s the end of that,” Felicity said softly, one night after they’d exhausted themselves. They were both breathing shallowly, naked in bed together. In the early morning hours, rain tapped gently against the windows of their penthouse. Felicity’s hair was a tumbled mass against the pillows and Oliver buried his nose in it briefly.

 

“That’s the end of… what?”

 

“Not statistically very likely that we’ll conceive a child outside of this window of time,” Felicity said, petting Oliver’s head. “So if it was going to happen this month…”

 

“It’s already happened.” Oliver cupped her face, kissed her lips. “We could be on our way.”

 

“All of the literature I’ve been reading says not to get our hopes up. Many couples do not experience success the first month that they try.”

 

That hardly seemed fair, since more than half of the kids Oliver had graduated with had children, and very few of them had been trying for them when their conception had occurred. “So… you’re saying don’t get our hopes up.”

 

“Exactly.” Felicity tapped his nose and smiled. “You know I love you like a crazy stupid amount, right?”

 

“Not as much as I love you,” Oliver said, sliding into a game that was familiar and comforting in its predictably.

 

“And if it didn’t happen this month, you know, it will happen eventually and I am very, very excited to have you as the father of my children.”

 

“Are you under the impression that I’m worried?”

 

Felicity smiled. “No. Why would I think that? You know, what happened to your first child – that… that wasn’t your fault.”

 

“I know.” But Oliver avoided her eyes as best as he could.

 

“I’m serious. No amounting of wanting a child or _not_ wanting a child has any effect on anything, Oliver. Unless it’s us bringing a baby into our world through sheer strength of will, and then keeping them with us.”

 

“Wait. Are _you_ worried?”

 

Felicity shook her head. “No. Know why?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you’re my partner in this, Oliver, and you have never let me down.”

 

“Never?”

 

Felicity smiled sadly. “You’ve never let me down for long. And that time, you were, you know….”

 

Oliver kissed her. He didn’t like to think about it. Didn’t like to think about the snow and the pain and the long fall from which he never should have come back. “I know.”

 

**

 

Knowing that there was nothing to be nervous about had never stopped Felicity from being nervous about, well… anything. She found herself in a constant state of wondering – was _this_ the time? Was she pregnant _already_ and just didn’t know it? She didn’t necessarily ascribe to the feeling that somehow, magically, she would just _know_ , but at the same time, there was a part of her that was hoping that she _would_.

 

“Felicity?” Jacob, her long-suffering executive assistant, stuck his head in the door way.

 

“Hm?”

 

“You asked me to remind you about your twelve o’clock meeting?”

 

“Right, of course.” Felicity started to gather the things that she would need. “Jacob? Can I ask you a personal question?”

 

“Of course.” After a couple of years of working together, they’d found a rhythm and for the most part, Felicity considered him a friend.

 

“If you…. If you had the option to… I mean, if you wanted to find something out, but you didn’t want to…”

 

“Felicity, you’re doing that thing where you’re trying to make sense, but you’re really, really not.”

 

She sighed. “Never mind. Maybe I’ll ask you after I can form a complete thought about it.”

 

Jacob chuckled. “Okay. Are you sure?”

 

“Yes. Very.”

 

Her twelve o’clock was a brief lunch with a representative from Wayne Enterprises’ Tech division, to talk about a joint contract for the military. It was more technical than business-oriented, and Felicity felt that she was spending time living at her roots, where she’d come from, and thus was very pleased.

 

An hour passed much more quickly than she would have liked, and then she was back at Queen Consolidated, dealing with other, less technical sides of her job. It was a few minutes before five when there was a knock at her door.

 

“Felicity?”

 

She lifted her head. “Thea! Come in!”

 

She wrapped the woman in a hug, and her affection was returned easily, although it wouldn’t have been that long ago that Thea would have hesitated to accept physical affection from anyone. The time that she’d spent with Malcolm Merlyn, the games that he’d played with her mind – they had fractured her, a bit. It had taken time and effort and concentration for her to put herself back together again. Felicity admired that about her. Thea had survived something unthinkable and had come out the other side of it alive, if not in tact.

 

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

 

“No, you didn’t interrupt,” Felicity said. “Oliver and I have both been working on keeping more reasonable hours lately. I was about to close everything down and come home.”

 

Thea smiled. “That sounds very official. Are you guys having… issues?”

 

“No.” Felicity was firm. “No, we’re just…. Working on some things. At the house.” A smile crept across her face. They’d spent a good forty-five minutes last night working on stamina. And tongue technique.

 

Thea grinned. “Ah. Sex things.”

 

“Thea!”

 

“What? It’s obvious. You’ve got the rabbit look in your eyes.”

 

“The what?”

 

“The rabbit look. You know, when you’re just so pleased with the world because you’ve been going at it like rabbits.”

 

Felicity laughed helplessly. “Well, I….”

 

“Don’t bother to deny it. I know the look well.” Thea reached for a paperweight. “You know, when Roy and I… anyway.”

 

The way it always did, the loss snuck up on Felicity and squeezed her heart hard. “I’m sorry, Thea.”

 

“No, it was a good reminder.” Thea set the paperweight down. “I was actually coming by to see if you wanted to catch dinner tonight. I thought I heard Oliver say he had something going on tonight?”

 

“He does. And I very much would like to.”

 

The temptation to tell Thea what she and Oliver were planning was so strong. Thea would be thrilled, she knew, to know that they were trying for a baby. But she also wanted this to be between her and Oliver, to savor the private process together.

 

They were drinking wine – Felicity much more slowly than she might have otherwise, a single glass of red wine all of her research had told her would be fine. They discussed fashion, and crime, and the Queen Charitable Foundation’s latest efforts to improve life for the people living and working in the Glades.

 

“I’ve been thinking about something,” Thea said.

 

“Do you need a rubber wall?” Felicity asked. “Is it another business venture?”

 

“No, it’s about how we… atone. For our sins.”

 

Felicity raised her eyebrows. “That’s an interesting choice of words.”

 

“It’s something my therapist said might help me – to serve others, figure out what I can do to help ease the pain I caused the people in my lives.”

 

“Not you.” Felicity reached across the table, took both of Thea’s hands. “It wasn’t you.”

 

“I made a lot of decisions, in hurt and in anger that…”

 

“You can’t be held entirely responsible for. Malcolm Merlyn had you exactly where he wanted you and…”

 

“I wasn’t a child, Felicity, I made my choices.”

 

“No, you didn’t have many choices offered to you at all,” Felicity said. “Thea, there’s no need to atone for anything.”

 

“Perhaps not. But I feel like there is. And that led me to think.”

 

“I wanted your opinion before I talked to Oliver – the Merlyn name, it’s mine now and… I can’t go back. There’s no way Starling City would accept me in a leadership position. But I think they would accept Oliver. And I think between the political position and our family’s money, we could really do some good things for the Glades. I think Oliver should run for mayor.”

 

Felicity wished for a moment that she wasn’t deeply concerned about the development of a fetus that was statistically probably only theoretical at this point. Because she might have drowned an entire glass.

 

“I’m not entirely sure how that helps you atone for _your_ sins, Thea.”

 

“I think my brother would be the best thing for Starling City. There’s no one more… fair, or more oriented towards justice, more concerned with Starling’s well-being. I can do this for Starling. And then I have… other plans.”

 

“Other plans? Are you leaving us behind?”

 

“Running has never helped me. There are other projects I would like to focus on,” Thea said. “It’s just something to think about.”

 

“Oliver’s…” Felicity sighed. “He can’t be who he is and be the mayor of Starling.”

 

“On the contrary, I believe he can,” Thea said. “It might be something the two of you need to talk about.”

 

“Might be? Definitely will be.”

 

“I wanted to bring it up to you first because I wanted to know what you thought.”

 

“Oliver is a much different person than he was when I first met him,” Felicity said slowly, “but I don’t know that he’s ready to be the mayor of a major metropolitan area. On the other hand, the other choices on the ballot are…”

 

“Certainly nothing appealing.”

 

Felicity’s mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour. “Do you plan to talk to Oliver yourself?”

 

“I do.”

 

Felicity nodded. “Okay. We’ll see what he thinks of it.”

 

**

 

But for long days, Oliver said nothing. And Felicity had so much floating around in her brain she thought she might scream. There was the forever-and-always low hum of anxiety in her brain about the Arrow’s activities – no matter how much the police force might accept him _fait accompli_ these days, what they were doing was still, technically, illegal. The collaboration between Wayne Enterprises and Queen Consolidated required her time and attention. And then of course, there was the fact that any day now, she would _know_. Not to mention the fact that her sister-in-law had designs on her husband having a political career, something she was far from certain about.

 

Her office door opened without a knock. There was only one person allowed that courtesy. Felicity lifted her head from an expense report and smiled at her husband, about whom she had just been thinking.

 

“Hey,” he said. “Am I bothering you?”

 

“Nope.” Felicity shook her head. “You’re never bothering me. Well, I mean, sometimes you are, but not by sticking your head in my office to say hello.”

 

He crossed the room quickly, and Felicity remembered with sudden clarity how he’d done that not so long ago, how it had ended on her desk…. He covered her mouth with his own. “Jacob says you’re free for lunch,” he said, as soon as they parted.

 

“Is that an invitation?” Felicity asked, tilting her head to the side.

 

“I’ve been thinking all day long about…” Oliver’s voice trailed off. He let his hand slide up her thigh. Felicity’s breath caught in her throat. “Cheeseburgers,” he finished.

 

It caught her by surprise and made her laugh. “You asshole,” she said, shaking her head.

 

“Not really. Jacob was just walking by and his eyes were very, very large.”

 

Felicity chuckled. “You would think he would be used to us by now…”

 

“Well, _I’m_ not used to us by now,” Oliver said. playing with the bar in her ear. “What do you say? Big Belly Burger?”

 

Felicity wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound that good today.”

 

Oliver’s eyes twinkled. “Is your pregnancy going to make you a picky eater, Felicity?”

 

“Probably _not_ pregnant,” Felicity said. “But I will do Thai food, if you want.”

 

“Okay,” Oliver agreed easily enough, and they left her office arm in arm, walking so that they bumped into each other occasionally, talking in low voices.

 

Jacob watched them go, a half-smile on his face. Until the phone rang, and he answered as professionally as he could that Mrs. Queen was out for the next hour or so, could he take a message.

 

**

 

The morning Felicity was supposed to do the early pregnancy test, her period came. It stained the sheets she’d been sleeping on. Oliver helped her get up, wrapped the sheets up while she changed, and then came into the bathroom while she wept.

 

“I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” Felicity said, shaking. “I didn’t _mean_ to.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“I was just so …. When I didn’t want burgers the other day, I just thought… I don’t know.”

 

“It’s only been a month.”

 

“I just… I was _sure_.”

 

Oliver pressed kisses to her face over and over and over again. His heart was breaking, too, though he couldn’t say quite why. “Next month, or the month after, Felicity. It will happen.”

 

Felicity nodded, almost frantically. “Next month.”

 

 

 

 


End file.
